President's Message - A Challenge...and a Promise October 2001

My dad always taught me to respect those who work hard. He said you could tell the character of a man by his hands. He taught that a hard-working man will have rough hands with hard calluses. That's the kind of hands he had — they were thick and hard. When he met someone for the first time he would shake hands by taking the other person's right hand in both of his hands. In that first hand clasp Dad made some very rapid judgments. Hard, callused hands meant a hard working, honest man. Soft hands meant something less than that.

If Dad were alive today he would be very disappointed in my hands! I work hard and put in long hours, yet I have no calluses to show for it. But it is not my hands I am worried about — it is the rest of me, or at least the rest of my body. A lot has changed since Dad was a young man. In today's world hard work does not keep us in shape or give us the kind of hands my dad would be proud of.

I turned 53 last week. I have learned that it is a challenge to stay in shape as we get older — at least it is for me. Not that 53 is old, but I have kind of a cushy job and I don't get much exercise from my work. I know that if we don't exercise regularly our muscles will deteriorate. And when I look in the mirror it is obvious that my body is perfect proof of that phenomenon.

My health is really good. The Vitality Pak, ProvexCV, ProstAvan, and Cell-Wise all do their job. I do not get sick. Replenex has totally relieved the symptoms of the torn cartilage in my knee. My resting heart rate is 59, my blood pressure is 118/66*, and my LDL cholesterol is 98. Those are all pretty good numbers. But the muscular chest I had in high school has shifted about fourteen inches — lower, that is. In other words, my midsection is as large as my chest used to be!

Obesity runs in my family. I had three aunts who each weighed over 300 pounds. They had trouble getting around and they all died early deaths. Obesity, along with diabetes related to their obesity, killed them. Those genetic factors tell me I have to do something about my own weight problem. I have been steadily gaining weight since high school — and none of it has been muscle. Just a year ago I started taking action when Jim McCune and I challenged each other to lose 24 pounds. I lost 16 pounds and he lost 35; I have kept my weight off and he has kept losing weight. Yet I need to lose another 23 pounds by the end of the year.

Why am I sharing all of this with you? Because I know there are tens of thousands of Melaleuca customers who struggle with these same issues. The numbers are different, but the story is the same. We have the best nutrition products in the world. Although our vital signs may be excellent, without proper exercise we can become overweight, and the problem will continue to get more serious as we get older. Millions of Americans share our problem, except that they are not taking The Vitality Pak and ProvexCV, putting them in much more serious risk.

I want to get old — really old — and I want to enjoy every moment of it. I want to be a good example of wellness, so that means I must start a daily exercise regimen and stick to it for the rest of my life. I'm inviting you to join me. I challenge you to post your goals and results alongside mine at www.melaleuca.com. To enter your results you must:

. Go to www.melaleuca.com and sign in by clicking on "Access My Account" and enter your Melaleuca User ID (8-digit ID#) and Password (if you do not have a password, you can get one by filling in "Password Request Form" under "First Time User").

. Then select "Wellness Program" in the options menu.

. Once you have accessed the Wellness Program, click on "Set and update my goals" to enter your information and daily achievements.

Our deadline to achieve our first short-term goal is January Launch — January 3, 2002. We can dial in every day and review how each one of us is doing. Now there's a motivator!

For me, this is a really fun project. Let's get old together — really old — and have fun doing it. Speaking of doing things for fun ... I have never grown a moustache or a beard. Never! Not even a goatee. Belinda says it is my conservative nature. It is no secret that I have not been very successful at growing hair on top of my head — and there is nothing to suggest that I would do any better growing hair on the front of it. But I've been thinking: For a guy to go through his life never knowing if he could grow a beard would be a really sad thing — especially for a bald guy. So here's the deal.

I am not shaving until I get down to my goal weight of 200 pounds. That's a scary thought, isn't it? That means if I appear at the January Launch with a beard, the signs are not good. We invite you to join us in this endeavor of becoming physically fit. We are going to make it fun, and the results will change not only how long we live but also how well we live. We will be looking for your results on the Internet! Melaleuca ... The Wellness Company!

Sincerely,

Frank L. VanderSloot

* Note from the Assistant to the President

There was a typographical error in the original article which appears in the October 2001 issue of Leadership in Action. Frank's blood pressure is 118/66, rather than 188/66 as originally printed. Frank writes his President's Message out by hand and gives it to me to type. In transcribing that message, I inadvertently changed the 118/66 to 188/66, which is obviously a concerning number. No need to fear-Frank's blood pressure is at healthy low levels. I apologize for the unnecessary concern this created

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